Under the blazing hot sun, Westford Academy Girls’ Tennis (WAGT) crushed Lexington High School at home on Thursday, June 4. This game was to move on to the round of four in the MIAA Division 1 state championships. Coming into this match, Lexington was ranked fifth with a in-season record of 16-2, whereas WAGT ranked fourth with an in-season record of 13-2. With this success, their overall record climbed to 14-2.
As the game began, Lexington used harsh techniques to throw WA off their game by forcing the players to move throughout the court. Despite the tough beginning, WAGT kept up with Lexington, creating long volleys and intense matches.
However, as time went on and the temperature cooled down, WAGT only heated up, adapting to Lexington’s style of play and changing their own style to disrupt theirs.
“I think we did really well because we did an [excellent] job at adapting to different circumstance,” senior captain Haasini Sriraman said. “There were some things that the other team was much better and more consistent at, and we just had to learn to quickly and consistently come up with new strategies to tackle them.”
The first singles match was played by junior Melanie Chang, who used powerful receives and pivoting movements to win her match. Her strength during the game showcased great success, leading her win the game 2-0.
The second singles match, played by freshman Pradnya Kekan, was a similar show of great intensity and resilience as seen in Kekan’s previous games during the season. The match went on for nearly three hours, and throughout this, Kekan continued to improve her techniques, clinching the game with a 2-1 victory.
Sophomore Emma Park, playing the third singles match, followed in a similar fashion. Park used precise shots that sliced through her opponent’s defenses. Her attacks nearly always recieved praise from both her team and the audience, making her the first to finish her game.
“I made sure to focus on waiting for the right moment and keeping the rallies long, and once I got the chance to attack, I took it,” Park said.
Senior captain Shreya Goyal and sophomore Deeksha Makkena played in the first doubles match. They used excellent communication, working with both at net play and back line play. According to Goyal, a major part of tennis, especially when playing doubles, is gaining trust with your teammate and learning their strengths and weaknesses.
“We were proud of […] the fact that […] in our second set, even though we were down, we had lost a set, we just kept fighting for a breakpoint, we didn’t let it get to us,” Goyal said. “We really just flushed whatever happened at the end or at the beginning [of the match go] and so when we went with that mentality, we were able to [..] just play our best game.”
Following the pattern set by previous matches, Sriraman and junior Sohana Arani won their second doubles match 2-0. Using their combined skills, the two players forced their adversaries to move around by hitting the balls high accross the court.
“We obviously had an obstacle in the middle, we were up and then they caught up to us, so we just had to keep coming up with new ideas to gain that momentum again,” Sriraman said.
WAGT will continue into the final four of the playoffs on Monday, June 8 at 3 p.m. at Lexington High School against Newton South.
